


The Value of “Love”

by pinkfire



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cheating, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Sexual Content, Extremely Dubious Consent, Gambling, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:14:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28608855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkfire/pseuds/pinkfire
Summary: “You can’t put a price on a human—““Bullshit. I already have a price in mind for every person in this university.” Ten leaned forward, eyes wide and smile wider. “Do you want to know yours, Kun?”
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Qian Kun/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	The Value of “Love”

**Author's Note:**

> ⚠️ PLEASE READ THE TAGS! (some tags may be added with future chapters) ⚠️

Kun looked so precious when he was angry. His face was more like a pout, too. His lower lip would jut out and his eyebrows would sink. Normally, he was cold and unbothered, more mature than Ten by miles. That made it so much more entertaining; the fact that Ten was the only one who could really piss Kun off. 

“What‘ll it be, hot stuff?” Ten challenged, settling against the back of his chair and nudging Kun’s foot with his own under the desk. Kun’s expression was so ruffled as he pulled his foot back. God, was he adorable. 

This might’ve been Kun at his cutest. $1,100,000 in debt. Absolutely fucked. 

He exhaled through his nose and swept his gunmetal bangs from his forehead in frustration. “You can do anything you want with me for a month.” 

Ten stared, incredulous. That Kun would make such a boring offer! “Ha! Hahaha! I’m betting two million dollars here, dumbass. What do you think you’re worth?” 

“You can’t put a price on a human—“

“Bullshit. I already have a price in mind for every person in this university.” Ten leaned forward, eyes wide and smile wider. “Do you want to know yours, Kun?” 

“You’re a lunatic.” 

“$50.” 

“Then what do you want?!” Kun slammed his fists against the table, making it rattle and hushing every quiet conversation in the crowd. 

It would’ve been wise for Kun to walk away, one would think. But if Kun didn’t have at least a million to his name by tomorrow, his father would pull him from the university and force him into the family business. Kun told his friends the business was something lame like insurance, but through extensive research, Ten found that the Qian family were the biggest sex traffickers in their country. There was no telling what falling into the family business entailed for a morally clean person like Kun. It was a loss, for sure. 

So he needed the money to prove he could make a success out of gambling. And Ten was the only person here crazy and rich enough to bet over one, let alone two million dollars. 

It would’ve ruined Kun’s reputation to walk away, too. He was the most popular gambler in their university. A rich background, sharp skill, daring bets. If someone didn’t want to date him, they wanted to be him. Or they were just Ten. Walking away meant looking like a little bitch in front of a big handful of the student body. The ones with opinions that mattered. The gambling freaks who piled into the library after hours to practice until the sun rose. 

Ten’s eyes formed crescents when he flashed a kittenish, pleased smile. He’d had this idea for weeks, and Kun was finally desperate enough to run into his web. “Your boyfriend is worth four million.” 

Kun’s face immediately paled and the library erupted into gasps and whispers. The mentioned boyfriend’s jaw dropped. “Stay the fuck away from Dejun.” 

Ten faked a yawn and started pushing his chair out, making their spectators wince at the scraping sound. “Then I guess I’ll go back to my dorm. You’re too boring.” 

“Wait!” Dejun spoke up, stepping forward to squeeze Kun’s shoulder. “Let’s hear what he’s offering.” 

Kun looked up at him with some kind of disgusting, meaningful gaze. Lovers always made Ten gag. 

“Oh, Dejun!” Ten dragged his chair back up to the table. “This is why you’re worth so much. What do you say, Kun?” 

Kun’s glare was cold and calculating, even as Dejun kneaded his shoulder. Ten could almost hear the gears in his head turning. But if there was one thing Kun had to learn, it was that Ten was the most unpredictable card game there was. It didn’t matter how sharp your memory was or if there was a scientific calculator tucked into your brain. Ten’s intentions couldn’t be measured and his next move couldn’t be predicted. 

“What do you want from him?” Kun asked. 

“Well,” Ten lilted, dragging the L for a good second. “Four million dollars if you win.” He pointed a dramatic finger at Kun, casting an even more dramatic shadow over the desk, then at himself. “If I win, I get Dejun for five days. As a pet. As a  _ sex toy. _ And in exchange for his services, I’ll pay your debt to your father and then some. Deal?” 

“What the fuck?” Kun yelled, clenching his fists until his knuckles were white. The whispers around the room were a constant buzz at this point, like the symphony of crickets and frogs at night. 

Dejun looked like he was trying to hide his mortification. He needed to work on his poker face, that was for sure. “Baby.” He tugged on Kun’s sleeve to gain his attention. “Do it. You’ll lose your debt either way, don’t you hear him? I don’t want to lose you.”

Ah, love was such a factor in natural selection. The stupid things people would do for love! 

Ten felt a light tap on his shoulder, so he twisted in his seat to give it his attention. It was Yukhei, biting at his fingernails, eyes darting from Ten to the card dealer to Kun. “Ten, you only have 6 million. Are you r-really going to bet your safety net? If you end up in debt you—“ 

“Ah ah ah!” Ten’s finger shot up to press against Yukhei’s lips. “Come here, puppy,” he beckoned, pulling him close by his tie so he could whisper in his ear. “Never tell your opponent what money means to you. Otherwise, you’ll end up like Kun over here.” 

Yukhei’s eyes were the size of saucers, and Ten didn’t even have to look to know about the boner in his slacks. Ten couldn’t find him pathetic, really. He owned up to it. He didn’t even try to deny it. And that’s why Ten kept him around. It didn’t hurt to have a loyal follower at his flank, especially one with a build like that. 

Yukhei gulped and pulled away, letting the silk of his tie slip through Ten’s fingers. “As long as you’re sure.” 

While talking with Yukhei, Ten missed out on the conversation across the desk. Good thing, actually. It was probably sappy and overly dramatic. The couple shared a quick kiss, dripping sugar that made Ten nauseous. 

Kun sat up straight, determined. “I’ll do it.” 

“Wonderful!” Ten clapped. “Now, Doyoung,” he started, pointing at the dealer who’d been languidly shuffling cards this whole time, likely the only bored person in the library. “Make it quick. I’ve been wasting too much time on this indecisive fuck.” 

Doyoung rolled his eyes and slammed his deck onto the table. “We’ll be playing a classic game of blackjack, one card face up, the second face down. The player who gets the count closest to 21 wins. The player who exceeds 21 first loses. Before we begin, the players must choose the value of an ace card. 11 or 1. Your pick?” 

Ten smiled at Kun. “Go ahead.” In normal circumstances, Kun always went for an ace card value of 1. He was the smart, mathematical type of gambler. He liked to keep his games as long as he could to use probability to his advantage, so he preferred cards with a small value. But Kun knew Ten’s playstyle. 

Ten was a daring, risk-all type. He liked having the power to win the game before it really even started. So, he valued his ace at 11. He wanted to get to 21 as quickly as possible, even if it meant risking an almost instant loss. Hit. Hit. Hit.

Kun’s choice was really unpredictable here. Would he match Ten’s playstyle, or would he choose the safety of his own and wait for Ten to crash? 

Kun didn’t insist that Ten choose first. There wasn’t a need. Ten  _ always _ chose 11. He rubbed his nape while he thought, looking at the desk rather than his opponent. It was best to avoid Ten’s leer. 

Finally, he spoke. “1.” Playing it safe. Well, who could blame him when his boyfriend’s body was on the line? 

“I choose 11,” Ten said, eyes trained on Kun in a playful glare. “Let’s start.” 

Doyoung immediately placed a card in front of Kun. In his peripheral, Ten could tell it was a six of hearts. Garbage in Ten’s eyes, a safe middle ground in Kun’s. So Kun’s expression remained unreadable. 

Ten’s face-up card was a lot more significant. If things went Ten’s way here, the game would be his. 

He’d prepared this “strategy” a few weeks ago. If strategy were another word for cheating. 

There was an ace of diamonds tucked into Ten’s sleeve, so he could use a sleight of hand trick to swap his face-down card with an ace if he pleased. Of each value, it was most likely he would get a card with a value of 10, a face card. Simple. There were 12 face cards in the deck and only 4 of each number. 

His strategy wasn’t completely overpowered, though. He first needed to actually  _ get _ a face card. And more importantly, Kun’s face-down card  _ couldn’t _ be an ace of diamonds. It would be worse than losing, getting caught cheating. Cheating was only respectable when you could get away with it, at least until all was said and done. 

The game, while skewed in Ten’s favor, was still up to chance. And Ten loved it that way. It was the appeal of gambling, after all. 

Ten’s pulse quickened and time seemed to slow as Doyoung flicked a card onto the desk, revealing… a queen of hearts! It was perfect. If he didn’t have to keep a poker face, Ten would be giggling with joy. 

Kun’s face-down card was dealt, then Ten’s. While Kun was distracted, collecting his cards, Ten picked his face-down card up, used his thumb to flick the ace underneath it, and his pinky to tuck the real card into his sleeve. With Ten’s dress shirt being a size too big with the cuffs unrolled, no one would’ve seen it. 

He nonchalantly picked the other card up and smiled, fanning his two-card deck out and tucking his face coyly behind it. He first looked at Kun, then flicked his eyes toward Dejun as the crowd behind him gasped, cheered, or burst into sideline banter at the sight of his cards. 

Kun’s soul visibly left his body, face losing its color and cards fluttering onto the table. “No…” he whispered. 

“Blackjack, baby.” Ten tossed his cards onto the desk, making them slide in Kun’s direction until friction halted them at the edge. A queen of hearts and an ace of diamonds. Ten won before Kun could even get halfway to 21.    
  


Tragic, but this was only the beginning of Ten’s _real_ gamble. 


End file.
